Paclitaxel and cisplatin with concurrent radiotherapy followed by surgery in locally advanced thymic carcinoma

Thymic carcinoma is a rare neoplasm with a poor prognosis. We report the clinical course of a patient who received complete surgical resection after effective induction treatment. A 72-year-old woman with advanced thymic carcinoma (squamous cell carcinoma, stage IVb) was considered as nonresectable due to invasion of neighboring organs and mediastinal lymph node metastasis. Two cycles of chemotherapy, consisting of paclitaxel (180 mg/m(2)) plus cisplatin (80 mg/m(2)), combined with thoracic radiotherapy (total 54 Gy) were performed concurrently and complete radical resection could then be performed. She is currently alive and ambulatory and has remained disease-free for two years. This multimodal treatment may be a good treatment option for locally advanced thymic carcinoma.